AHHH YES Learning to Adjust
Homesickness hits us all here in Panama. Of course, any place you move to outside the US you will find the same thing.
For me it took about three months to hit. You’re so busy doing this and that to prepare for your leaving the US and so happy about your new life that awaits you. When you get here, you have shopping to do, moving into your new home, people to meet and greet. You’re happy with all the new things to see and do around you; the music the food,...
For me it took about three months to hit. You’re so busy doing this and that to prepare for your leaving the US and so happy about your new life that awaits you. When you get here, you have shopping to do, moving into your new home, people to meet and greet. You’re happy with all the new things to see and do around you; the music the food,...

Like anywhere, there are doctors in Chapala and Ajijic that are excellent and there are some that are not so good. There are a couple of local private clinics here, such as Maskaras and Ajijic Clinic, which offer x-rays and 24-hour medical assistance. Doctor Garcia runs Maskaras clinic and his wife was our pediatrician, she is still there and now cares for my friends’ children.
We have a lot of adventure travel here in Granada such as fishing, canopy zip-lining, hiking in the mountains, going to Lake Apoyo (pictured), exploring Ometepe island, surfing and swimming, etc.
The interesting thing about living in Belize is that everybody gets along with everybody so you may have a Belizean living next to you on one side and on one side you would have somebody who came from another Central American country or you would have an expat – an American, a Canadian, or someone from the UK or Europe. The Cayo District is such a melting pot of cultures and nationalities but everybody gets along. You do your own thing and nobody will bother you.
Living entirely abroad is something I never heard anybody say that they regret. It's just a life changing experience, and a completely different perspective of the world than vacationing in different countries.
Many people have this idea that Panama is a backward place with grinding poverty, poor infrastructure, political instability and lots of risk for investors. In fact, while there is poverty there in relative terms, the people are happy, relaxed, friendly and open. Much of the country is pretty much like parts of California or the American south, and was so, long before swarms of gringos arrived at the start of the current economic boom.